The Boy Scouts of America might soon end its national ban on gay scouts and scout leaders, the organization announced Monday.
On the BSA's website, director of public relations Deron Smith issued the following statement:
“For more than 100 years, Scouting’s focus has been on working together to deliver the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. Scouting has always been in an ongoing dialogue with the Scouting family to determine what is in the best interest of the organization and the young people we serve.
“Currently, the BSA is discussing potentially removing the national membership restriction regarding sexual orientation. This would mean there would no longer be any national policy regarding sexual orientation, and the chartered organizations that oversee and deliver Scouting would accept membership and select leaders consistent with each organization’s mission, principles, or religious beliefs. BSA members and parents would be able to choose a local unit that best meets the needs of their families.
“The policy change under discussion would allow the religious, civic, or educational organizations that oversee and deliver Scouting to determine how to address this issue. The Boy Scouts would not, under any circumstances, dictate a position to units, members, or parents. Under this proposed policy, the BSA would not require any chartered organization to act in ways inconsistent with that organization’s mission, principles, or religious beliefs.”
An NBC News report suggests the change could be announced as early as next week if adopted by the Boy Scouts' board of directors.
What do you think about this possible change in Boy Scouts of America policy? Please tell us in the comments section below.
That gay people will have a harder life doesn't mean there's something wrong with being gay; it just means that the hate and marginalization needs to end.
i know certain Friends of the Neanderthal here will disagree, but this is evolution, folks... homophobia is going the way of the dodo (in more ways than one, though not fast enough)...
Here is the thing Tom. I and many people know gay men and not a single one of them would ever rape a child let alone even think of doing something so heinous.
(Harrisburg) — Today the American Family Association of Pennsylvania (AFA of PA) contacted the national office of the Boy Scouts of America calling for the removal of two members of the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson and Ernst & Young CEO James Turley are not acting in the best interest of Scouting nor the boys they serve by pressuring the Scouts to change their policy concerning homosexual leaders and members. “Stephenson and Turley have come to the Boy Scout Executive Board with an agenda. Their apparent goal is to undermine the organization which has as its mission to help young men make ethical and moral choices over their lifetime. They are asking the Boy Scouts of America to hand over their members to be guinea pigs in this great social experiment called ‘normalizing homosexuality,’” commented Diane Gramley, president of the AFA of PA. http://afaofpa.org/archives/p3947/